The season of Thanksgiving is here. The kick off holiday to the festive season was first celebrated, nationally, on November 26, 1789. Over the years, it has become a beloved tradition for family, friends and loads of delicious food! During this time many students are returning home to spend quality time with their family. As an international student, being far away from home during this time can be difficult. However, there are several ways to be a part of this yearly tradition and more.

1. On- campus celebrations Many campuses across the U.S. usually host Thanksgiving dinner/parties for their international students. If your school is hosting such an event, go out and enjoy the feast. It’s a perfect way to hang out with your friends and take a small break from studying. Plus who doesn’t love free food?

2. Thanksgiving with your friends! Nothing is closer to having family than surrounding yourself with friends. You can have your own Thanksgiving celebration with your friends by preparing food together, watching football, and simply enjoying each other’s company.

3. Volunteering Giving back to those in need is a good way to capture the spirit of Thanksgiving. Not only are you getting involved in your community, but you get to meet new people and learn about their background. You can help share and deliver food to those who are in need and show them what this holiday is really about!

4. Thanksgiving Day ParadeThis is a must-see event for Thanksgiving. Big, bright balloons of favorite cartoon and movie characters, floats and musical performances are just some the features of a Thanksgiving Day Parade. For those living in or close to New York City, there is the Macy’s Day Parade that brings about thousands of people each year. If you’re not in New York, check out if your local area will be having a parade and go out and enjoy the festivities.

5. Sleep and Study After enjoying a wholesome Thanksgiving meal with your friends and enjoying local events, Thanksgiving break is also a good time to get some rest. With final examinations around the corner, catching up on some sleep and squeezing in some study time will be needed to help you through this busy period. Also, take this opportunity to complete any outstanding assignments. From the ISO staff to you, Happy Thanksgiving!

Whether you are an international student, or someone who’s doing a summer exchange program in the U.S., there’s nothing more important than having a safety net to fall back on, especially when it comes to health insurance. Health care works differently in some places than it does in the United States. In many countries, health insurance can be obtained for very little to no cost all. For private institutions such as Stanford University, students were charged close to $4,000 for the 2013-2014 academic year for its student health insurance. For many international students, it is compulsory for them to pay this fee in order to enroll in classes. For those who are allowed the flexibility in selecting a health care plan, most students seek plans that are affordable, yet can meet their school’s waiver requirements. Most schools in the U.S. have specific waiver requirements, such as specific coverage for lifetime maximum, deductible and/or co-payment. Services such pre-existing condition and wellness and preventative care coverage might make the plan more appealing, yet it also makes the premium a lot higher. To most international students, they come to the U.S. with one goal in mind—to obtain knowledge. Therefore, if they need to pay extra for services that go way beyond their needs, it only becomes another financial burden for them and their family.Service vs. Cost According to the College Board’s Trends in College Pricing report, students spend up to $9,000 for room and board, $1,200 on books and supplies, $2,000 on personal expenses and $1,000 on transportation on an annual basis. These fees are solely for cost of living and do not include the actual tuition. Sri Charan, who attends the University of South Florida, said living expenses can cost up to $1500 per month for him. Therefore, when faced with a $2000 charge for health insurance from his school, he described that as being “really pricey” for an international student. Therefore, any additional fee for students, especially students from abroad, can seem like an extraneous expense that they might not be able to afford. As a result, most international students want to find a balance between cost and coverage when it comes to health insurance, since few of them go to doctors on a regular basis and even fewer require supplementary services such as intercollegiate sports. Furthermore, many international students do not seek treatments unless it becomes a case of emergency Dorian from Kutztown University said, “I want an insurance that covers me for big problems, just to be sure that I do not have to spend thousands of dollars in case of emergency.”Mandatory school plans Currently, a big problem that many international students are facing is not being able to waive out of their school’s health care plan, since some schools have strict waiver requirements. Some students must meet one of the following requirements to waive out of their school’s plan—government sponsored, employer sponsored or covered under the parents’ insurance plan—which is hard to achieve for international students. With these tight restrictions, one can’t help but raise the question of why is it that schools are pushing students into their health insurance plans? The answer: convenience. According to the director of ISSO (International Student Services Office) for Oakland University, he labels it as: “… a huge hassle for the school when students have multiple [insurance] plans.”What do students really seek for? Therefore, unlike their U.S. classmates, many international students do not have the option to opt out of the school’s plan. According to Dorian, “The price, if the plan meets the school requirements, and if it covers serious problems,” is what he is looking for in an insurance plan. Similar to Dorian, most international students are not seeking for comprehensive plans like the ones they may have in their home country. Instead, they want a plan with medium coverage at a cost that they can afford. Fortunately, companies such as ISO Health Insurance, is working with universities across the country to create plans that will not only meet their requirements, but also make them more affordable. Laura from University of South Florida said, “My school recommended ISO to me, and I haven’t had any problems when I went for treatments.” She then added, “It’s really easy for me!” There is nothing more important than staying healthy when you are abroad. With ISO International Student Health Insurance, students are able to have affordable health care plans that will meet there school’s unique requirements.